LOCATION:
Exchange House – City of London, Exchange Square
THE JOB:
Safety and cosmetic refurbishment of six escalators
After the sun has gone down, the work carried out to the look of the escalators comes into its own at night, when you can see in; viewers are able to spot the skirting lights, handrail lighting and step lights.
In a city that never sleeps and one in which you want to be standing out from your neighbour, these aesthetic additions were important to the client to have an edge, be noticed and match their high profile professionalism.
Safety
Upgrades to the existing machines mean that they are now all fully safety compliant, working efficiently to current regulations. All parts have been checked and tested, software updated or replaced and a clear fault display added. Regular maintenance is now booked for these escalators under an initial three-year service plan with us.
Experience
Our vast experience and huge store of older spare parts, means that we are ideally suited to working with older machines from the large manufacturers.
When we remove older machines, we strip them down and save as many parts as we can, some for many years, knowing that a future refurbishment will need them.
Our engineers are able to work with the older machines like these, knowing which parts can be refurbished, which need to be replaced and the lifetime of them, because for many of our clients, refurbishment is the preferred option cost-wise and to avoid disruption too.
Upgrades
The six escalators all now have clearer demarcation – yellow paint to mark out the steps and yellow comb plates so users know where to stand and what parts will move. To allow a more efficient machine, each also has a sensor to pick up someone approaching, taking the lift out of a slower idle mode to a faster mode before they’ve even been stepped on.
The process
We worked with the client to keep disruption to a minimum for staff and visitors and so three lifts were always in working order going up for the duration of the project.
Lifts and stairs were available for the descent.
Hoarding marked the work area at the top and bottom of the escalators and huge curtains kept eyes out too. All work was carried out at night because of the daytime’s heavy footfall, with careful liaison for loading bay access each day for our deliveries and equipment.
